Device for attaching a flag and halyard arrangement to flagpoles



March 16, 1954 E. L. MARTIN DEVICE FOR ATTACHING A FLAG AND HALYARD ARRANGEMENT TO FLAGPOLES Filed Jan. 18, 1952 INVENTOR 50am 4. xwaerm;

ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 16, 1954 OFFICE DEVICE FOR ATTA HALYARD ARRA POLES CHING A FLAG AND NGEMENT TO FLAG- Edward L. Martin, Dunedin, Fla. Application January 18, 1952, Serial No. 267,026

Claims.

This invention relates to devices for attaching a flag and halyard arrangement to flagpoles and more particularly to devices which permit the attached flag to revolve about the flagpole according to the direction of the wind without becoming wrapped around the pole.

There have been a number of attempts to design an attachment for flagpoles which will prevent the flag from becoming entangled with the pole, but known devices designed to accomplish that end have been disadvantageous for a number of reasons and, as a result, have never become commercially feasible. Probably the most important reason that such devices have not been usable is the fact that most of them have included rather complicated arrangements of casings, ball bearings, and races. They have had so many working parts that the arrangements were either prohibitively expensive or subject to failure when exposed to continual foul weather.

Another disadvantage of some of the known arrangements is that they are not readily attachable to flagpoles after they have been erected. That is to say, the devices are specially built into the pole.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior devices by providing a very simply constructed and rugged attachment, which consists substantially of three main elements, thus reducing the chance of failure.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment so designed as to keep the formation of ice on the moving parts to a minimum so the members which move relative to each other will not become jammed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment which is easy to assemble on a flagpole and, when assembled thereon, needs no upkeep or lubrication.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple construction for a flagpole attachment which is very inexpensive and can be installed by any purchaser using only a pair of pliers or the like.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a flagpole attachment with a unique and practical application of disc bearings which permits the simple rugged construction.

These and other objects will become readily apparent from a more detailed study of the invention according to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view showing an upper and lower attachment as applied to a flagpole;

Figure 2 is a top-plan view showing the upper attachment placed on a flagpole;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 33 of Figure 4; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 in Figure 3.

In Figure 1 is shown a flagpole I!) with upper and lower attachments i2 and I4 positioned thereon. Each attachment has a floating member, the floating member in the upper attachment being indicated by the reference numeral I6 and, in the lower attachment, being indicated by the reference numeral l8. The upper attachment has an eye 2!! through which a halyard 22 is threaded, and the lower floating member l8 has a cleat 24 about which the ends of the flag halyard are attached. It might be desirable to substitute a pulley arrangement for eye 20. As shown in Figure 1, a flag 26 is attached to the halyard 22 so that it may be raised and lowered.

Figures 2, 3, and 4 show in more detail the construction of the attachment. While only the upper attachment i2 is shown in these figures, it is to be understood that the lower attachment is identical to the upper attachment except for the fact that the floating member I8 for the lower attachment is provided with a cleat 24 rather than with an eye 29. It is also to be understood that. in instances where a flagpole has an extreme taper, bottom to top, a somewhat larger attachment must be used for the lower member.

Each attachment is comprised of a casing which is molded from two vertical halves 26 and 28. Each half is formed with a semi-circular race 3!! and 32. When the two halves of each casing are placed together around the pole, the two semi-circular races form together an annular race. Holes 33 are positioned in thecasing, communicating between the race and the outside to provide drainage of rain water or the like which may have blown in.

Suitable means are provided for securely attaching the two halves of the casing around a flagpole. In the preferred embodiment, the two halves of each casing are provided with lugs 34 which receive a bolt 36 on which a nut 38 is threaded for clamping the lugs and consequently the two halves of the casing together around the flagpole. Alternatively, the casing could be secured to the pole by screws or the like, but such an arrangement would not be as satisfactory for all purposes, for instance, when the flagpole is metal.

Each floating member It and I8 consists of a generally triangular-shaped piece 40 having at- 6 eye 20 in the upper attachment or a cleat 24 in the lower attachment. At either corner of the base of the triangle is a spindle 42 to which are attached, for rotation about the spindles, disc bearings M. Under the action of the wind pulling the floating member radially outwardly, disc bearings 44 will engage the upper and lower side walls of the race 30.

The members of the attachment thus described can be easily molded or otherwise formed of magnesium or plastic or any other suitable material. Because of the simplicity of design, the complete device can be manufactured with a small amount of material and relatively few manufacturing operations. Another important feature is the fact that the revolving unit will work with any size pole so that the dimensions of the casing only need be changed to provide attachments for poles of all sizes.

In operation, before the two perpendicular halves 25 and 28 are placed together, the floating member (is or it as the case may be) is inserted in its race 3! The two halves are then clamped around pole to by means of the lugs 34 being clamped together by the bolt and nut arrangement 35 and 33. The extreme ease with which the attachment can be assembled on a pole can readily be observed from the few steps mentioned above. Actually "only pliers are necessary to complete the job.

Since the wind always pulls the flag and consequently the floating members outwardly, the disc bearings M will be caused to rotate about the spindles '42 as floating member 16 revolves about the pole. Thus, it is seen that the flag will have very little friction to overcome as it revolves about the pole.

he halyard '22 will pull the lower floating member 13 around the pole, following upper floating member 16 slightly.

While I have described what 'I believe to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto except within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

.1. A halyard attachment for flagpoles comprising, a easing consisting of two members, semi-circular in section, to be mounted around a flagpole, means forming an annular groove, terminated by spaced lips, in said casing, a nonnircumferential halyard receiving means, rotatabl'e discs bearings carried by said halyard receiving means and adapted to revolve freely in the annular groove against said lips about said pole.

2-. n halyard attachment according to claim 1, and means for clamping said members around said flagpole.

tached at its apex an 3. A halyard attachment for fiagpoles according to claim 1, in which at least one drainage hole is formed between said groove and the lower end of said attachment.

4. In combination with a flagpole, a halyard attachment comprising a top casing mounted around said flagpole substantially at the top thereof, a bottom casing mounted around said flagpole near the bottom thereof, each of said casings having an annular groove formed therein with a restricted annular space extending from said groove to the outside of said casing, a top member extending from said annular groove through said annular space to the outside and having ring means at one end thereof disposed outside said casing for receiving a halyard, a bottom member having a cleat at one end thereof disposed outside said casing for receiving and fastening the halyard, said top and bottom members being non-circumferential and therefore extending only a part of the way around said casing; disc bearings rotatably mounted to the other ends or" said top and bottom members and rotatably mounting said top and bottom members in said top and bottom casings respectively, with the disc bearings being disposed. in said annular grooves and bearing against the outer walls of said groove.

5. A halyard attachment for flagpoles comprising, a casing consisting of two vertically extending halves which are semi-circular in cross-section, means for clamping said halves around a flagpole, said casing having a circumierential annular groove formed therein when in clamped position, and having a restricted annular opening extending from said groove to the outside of said casing; 2 non-circumterenti-al member having disk bearings on one portion thereof and a halyard receiving means located on another portion, said portion of said member having bearings thereon being mounted for movement around said casing, within said groove, the portion having the halyard receiving means extending through said restricted annular opening so as to be located outwardly of said casing, and to be rotatable about the outer periphery thereof.

EDWARD L. MARTIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 689,077 Griilith Dec. 17, 1901 1,048,291 Buckley Dec. 24, 1912 1,061,042 Buckley May 6, 1913 1,202,745 Lindner Oct. 24, 1916 1,802,480 Cunningham Oct. 12, 1926 

